Italian defender Pasquale Bruno arrived at Hearts in 1995 with a reputation of being one of the most uncompromising defenders in Serie A.

Jim Jefferies snapped up the former Juventus, Torino and Fiorentina man to add experience and steel to his back line, and to help bring on young centre backs Paul Ritchie and Allan McManus (who Bruno once booted up the backside after a making a mistake in one game).

He was coming to the end of his career when he arrived at Tynecastle, but played 35 times for The Jambos between 1995 and 1997, scoring once. He even finished his career by making one appearance for Cowdenbeath, under current Hearts manager and ex-teammate Craig Levein in 1998.

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Bruno’s intensity wasn’t limited to the pitch however. Italian journalist Gabriele Marcotti recounted what he described as his “favourite” Pasquale Bruno story on the Goalazzo football podcast with James Richardson.

Discussing the career of one-time most expensive player in the world, Gianluigi Lentini, Bruno’s name came up, having played with the winger at Torino in the early 90s, and Marcotti couldn’t resist sharing an example of Bruno’s intense nature.

“He’s one of my favourite characters in Italian football – I have to tell my Pasquale Bruno story,” said Marcotti.

“Stefano Taccone, the Juventus goalkeeper, tells a story of when he used to room with Pasquale Bruno,

“Sometimes Taccone couldn’t sleep and he’d wake up. Pasquale Bruno would be sitting up in bed and would be staring at the television. Which was off.

Bruno puts in a "robust" challenge in a European match against red Star Belgrade at Tynecastle (Image: Daily Record)

“He would just be fixating on the stand by light – the little red light – in the dark. Taccone would be looking at him wondering ‘do I say something and ask what he’s doing? Or just I pretend that it never happened?’

“The guy was intense and had issues!”

Marcotti described the defender as “the ultimate, nasty hard man,” but host Richardson, who had met Bruno during his time working in Italy, revealed a gentler side to the man.

“He was a real sweetheart off the field,” said the former Football Italia host. “I spent a little bit of time with him and his family and he was just the nicest guy.

“But on the field he was, as his nickname suggested, ‘an animal.’ There was that time he tried to take the referee apart and it was Lentini, the slender, gazelle-like figure who’s holding Bruno back.”